


Hard-Knock Life: Extras & Epilogues

by kitlaurie



Series: Klaus Orphan au [2]
Category: Klaus (2019)
Genre: Adoption, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22799332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlaurie/pseuds/kitlaurie
Summary: A place for me to post any and all Orphan au content that doesn't belong in the main story.Side stories, expanded backstories, epilogues, and "deleted scenes".Possible spoilers for unfinished chapters of Hard-Knock Life, warnings will be in the notes at the beginning of each chapter.
Relationships: Jesper Johanssen/Klaus
Series: Klaus Orphan au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590952
Comments: 22
Kudos: 177





	1. Rough Nights (epilogue)

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of this little story takes place sometime after chapter 4 of Hard-Knock Life but the second part is set after the end of the main story. The only real spoiler is the fact that my fic is going to have a happy ending (but no spoilers for how they get there!)
> 
> You might want to wait to read it if you don't want to peek ahead to everyone being a big happy family, otherwise you should be fine!
> 
> (Also, unofficial introduction of an animal character)
> 
> I got too impatient and needed to write some family fluff for this au! I've been thinking about this for a few weeks! Felt like it should be posted separately since it has that past/present compare and contrast as a main feature.
> 
> Really thought this would be a max of 1,000 words, but it ended being double that!

Smeerensburg had been hit by a sudden, brutal blizzard and the post office rocked and creaked to an alarming degree in the wind.

Jesper lay wide awake, trying to ignore the moans and swaying of the poor dilapidated building they called home. Of course, he wasn’t the only one awake.

Sophie had once again wriggled her way, uninvited, into his arms and was most likely the most comfortable person in the room. She drifted in and out of sleep, seemingly mad at the storm for interrupting her rest as she grumbled and rolled over every time the wind picked up and shook the walls.

At this late an hour Jesper had resigned himself to a sleepless night with an armful of squirming toddler and just tried to appreciate being off his feet for a bit.

He felt another tiny hand on his shoulder and just barely heard Agnes' soft voice over the storm.

"Can I sleep over here with you?"

This was odd. Agnes almost always slept next to Nelly. He'd never seen it any other way.

"What happened to Nelly?" He asked.

"Nelly isn't sleeping." She told him in the closest thing to a whine he'd heard so far from the soft-spoken girl.

He squinted into the darkness behind her and saw the outline of Nelly sitting up ramrod straight with her back against the wall.

He groaned.

"Sure, the more the merrier."

Agnes had barely managed to settle in around the already disgruntled Sophie when Jesper felt someone else breathing on him.

"Hey, can I come over here too?" Joelle whispered, far too close to his ear.

"Yes, of course. Why not?" He said, barely bothering to keep his voice down since apparently no one was sleeping.

Joelle added herself to the group much less carefully, greatly upsetting Sophie who wasn't used to having all this company.

None of the girls actually went to sleep and it wasn't much later when something broke loose somewhere and the wind and snow began pouring in at full force.

Suddenly everything was knees and elbows as the boys jumped over to Jesper at the same time Nelly and Yvette jumped to the wall to try and patch up the hole.

When the wind was once again slightly more muffled Yvette made her way over to their little pile, yelled "Move over!" at no one in particular, and put her self right in the middle.

Nelly never asked to join them, but Jesper heard shuffling behind him and felt another small hand bunch up the back of his shirt as he fell asleep. Nervous and uncomfortable and bruised, but warm.

-

It had been a few months since that first Christmas, and only a few weeks since they'd all moved in with Klaus and made that cabin in the woods a little less lonely.

And it was a good thing they'd finished settling in when they did. The rapidly approaching Spring meant nothing to the weather of Smeerensburg and the island was once again expecting a massive blizzard.

They were ready for it though. Everyone was safe inside for the night, the kids were in bed, and Jesper was waiting for Klaus to settle into their bed next to him.

For once Klaus was the one doing most of the talking. He was going through a list of what Jesper liked to refer to as "Klaus Things", things Klaus always had totally under control.

They had plenty of extra food and firewood in case they got snowed in. The reindeer and horse were safe in the stables with plenty of feed. He was listing off the most likely areas of the house and workshop that could be damaged in the rough weather and made it clear he would check on them first thing in the morning.

It was all things he didn't need much (if any) help with, so Jesper tuned him out a bit. Just half listening as he lay in bed. He had his own preparations for the storm to worry about and he was trying to figure out if he should tell Klaus what to expect.

He wouldn't have to worry for long though. Almost as soon as Klaus had the lights out and had joined him under the covers they had their first intruder.

Sophie had slipped in and made her presence known by going up to the bed and smacking Jesper on the arm without saying a word.

Jesper turned over and reached down to pick her up but she climbed right over him and into Klaus' arms.

"Since when do you prefer him over me?" Jesper asked her in mock outrage.

"Papa." She said matter-of-factly, patting Klaus on the cheek.

"Mouse, how could you betray me like this?" He continued, burying his face in his pillow and pretending to sob dramatically. His emotional display only made her giggle.

Agnes was the next to sneak in, completely unnoticed over their joking and laughing.

"I still want you to hold me, Dad." She said softly.

"Well!" Jesper said, helping her up into the bed. "At least _someone_ around here still likes me!"

Sophie continued laughing at all his noise as he tucked Agnes in next to him.

"More than one someone." Klaus said, reaching over and running a hand through Jesper's hair. "Now, let's get some sleep." He said to the girls. "The storm won't bother us in here."

"Oh, we're not done yet." Jesper told him. It wasn't unusual for them to find their two littlest curled up with them most nights, but he was pretty sure it would be more than just the four of them this time.

Even though the howling storm was much more muffled in here than it had been in the post office and the sturdy, well built walls of the cabin did an excellent job of keeping the snow out he was sure they'd have more visitors soon.

Klaus didn't even have time to ask Jesper what he meant before the boys were peeking around the side of their door.

"Can we stay in here?" Oskar asked. "Oliver's scared of the storm."

"What?" Oliver exclaimed. "You're the one who woke me up."

"No, you were awake too!" Oskar tried to defend himself.

"You were crying." Oliver said, flatly.

"Boys!" Jesper yelled over them before they could continue. "Please stop arguing and just get over here already."

The twins ran over to the bed and quickly climbed over Jesper to plant themselves right in the middle, Oskar carelessly stepping right on his stomach in his hurry.

"Sorry Dad." He said when he heard the strangled noise Jesper made as he tried not to curse.

"Jesper?" Klaus sounded much more genuinely concerned than Oskar did.

"I'm fine." Jesper said, taking a deep breath. "I've been through worse."

They had a few moments where it seemed like someone might actually fall asleep, if they didn't have to keep fruitlessly shushing the boys who would not stop loudly whispering to each other.

Then Joelle wandered in with Chekhov in her arms, the excessively tolerant cat allowing her to carry him cradled like a baby.

"That cat is not getting in this bed." Jesper told her before she could even ask a question.

"What?" She asked, clearly unhappy with that new rule. "But he always sleeps in my bed!"

"And he can go back to your bed." He said, staying firm on his statement.

"Joelle," Klaus said over them. "Why don't you set him down and see where he wants to sleep?"

Joelle frowned but set the cat on the floor before climbing into bed next to Klaus and Sophie, making no effort to hide her lingering frustration with Jesper.

Chekhov jumped up and made himself comfortable at the foot of the bed and it took everything Jesper had in him not to comment on it.

Yvette stormed in soon after, going right up to the bed and leaning over Jesper to look at Joelle.

"Why aren't you in our room?" She asked her.

"I couldn't sleep." Was all Joelle had to say.

"Well I couldn't sleep neither once I saw you were missin'!" Yvette said.

"If you're scared of the storm you can just stay here with us." Joelle told her.

"I'm not scared!" Yvette insisted. "You're just being a baby!"

Suddenly there was a loud _bang_ , like something hitting the side of the house _hard_ , and Yvette was in-between Joelle and the boys in an instant.

"Now who's the baby?" Oskar teased her.

"That's enough name calling." Klaus said in a firm but gentle voice.

The kids weren't even pretending to try and sleep now, just quietly bickering and joking with each other and Jesper. Klaus had gone oddly silent. When Jesper looked at him he was watching them with a soft smile and wet eyes.

"Hey," Jesper called to him quietly over the noise in-between them. "You doing alright?"

Klaus rubbed his eyes with the palm of his free hand. _Uh oh._

"You know what, I think you still owe me a thank you and I can't believe I've let it slide for this long." Jesper joked, mostly for his own benefit. If Klaus started crying he would cry too, and then the kids would notice and they'd all just be a big mess.

"Oh really?" Klaus smiled. "What exactly have I forgotten to thank you for?"

"For making all your dreams come true." Jesper whispered, doing his best to sound smug.

But, _oh_ , maybe that was a little less jokey and a little more sincere than he'd intended. Klaus' smile got wider, but tears had begun forming in the corner of his eyes. He looked away and Jesper was worried he'd really gone too far with what was supposed to be just a little teasing.

Except Klaus wasn't just looking away from him, he was looking at something behind Jesper. Jesper strained his neck to look over his shoulder. Nelly stood there silently, her own blanket bunched up in her arms.

"Well, are you getting in," Jesper asked her, raising an eyebrow. "Or are you just going to stand there all night?"

Without waiting for her answer, Jesper moved towards the center of the bed making room for her on the edge. He knew she wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle.

Everyone else grumbled and shifted over as Klaus chuckled and Nelly climbed up, pressing in close next to Jesper but cocooning herself in the blanket she'd brought with her. She made no excuses for why she was there, and no one asked her to.

Eventually the chaos settled and the children fell asleep, the adults doing there best to remain quiet. Jesper watching Klaus' face as best he could in the dark.

"You're welcome." He whispered once it seemed like the kids were really asleep. "I really want to kiss you right now, but I don't think I can reach that far without causing a disaster."

Klaus laughed, doing his best to keep it quiet and not disturb Sophie who was curled up on his chest. "I guess we'll have to wait for that."

Jesper reached over and Klaus met him in the middle, taking the man's hand in his own.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

They stayed like that for a while, hand in hand, Jesper completely trapped in bed by his not-so-little family all around him.

He knew they'd wake up in the morning with elbows in their ribs and weird aches from not being able to move and the kids fighting because someone else got up too early or because they couldn't find their way back out of bed.

But it was worth it for this.


	2. Mystery Bruises (deleted scene)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Jesper talk about bruises, on the job injuries, and kids eating bugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I consider this sort of a "deleted scene" from chapter 6 of Hard-Knock Life. I like how it came out once I could focus on it by itself and not worry about where it would fit in a larger chapter. Can take place anytime right before, during, or after chapter 6.
> 
> ~ Quick warning for discussion of bruises and minor injuries. Everything is incidental/accidental or just kids being kids and very minor, but I wanted to say something in case anyone has issues with the topic. (And if you don't, don't let the warning worry you, this is meant to be very light.)

It was surprising, how quickly the abandoned, cluttered barn full of toys had become a comfortable place to be. A predictable part of a daily routine. Company that wasn’t a child. Somehow this little window between the mornings swarmed by kids and the nights climbing through windows and down chimneys had become the highlight of Jesper’s day.

Letters had been read, toys were being packed, and the sun was just beginning to set. Jesper was talking animatedly, happy to have someone listening to him. Even if the conversation was a bit of a one way street, most of the time.

“What’s that?” Klaus asked, interrupting the routine chatter.

“What’s what?” Jesper followed his line of site to his wrist, where an ugly purple bruise was peeking out from the cuff of his sleeve. “Oh, that.”

Klaus continued to stare at his arm intently. “That’s not from delivering toys, is it?”

“Oh no, definitely not.” Jesper reassured him. “Not this one at least. I know exactly where this one came from.”

He rolled his sleeve back revealing more of the long skinny bruise running diagonally across the inside of his arm.

“I got this because those destructive little goblins I live with suddenly lost all sense of self preservation the other day and almost got Oliver crushed under a loose beam because they were roughhousing in the post office.” He explained. “I tried to catch it, which, I guess technically I did.”

Klaus continued studying Jesper’s raised arm intently.

“What about that?” He asked, pointing to a scrap of lightly bloodstained cloth tied around Jesper’s index finger.

“Sophie bit me.” Jesper answered, wiggling his bandaged finger.

“She _bit_ you?” 

“I mean, I did stick my finger in her mouth.” Jesper shrugged.

Klaus’ face was the picture of confusion and concern.

“She was eating a bug!” Jesper exclaimed defensively.

All he got in response to that was raised eyebrows.

“What was I supposed to do? Just let her eat it? Is this something I don’t know about kids? That your supposed to let them eat bugs?”

Klaus turned his head and put a hand over his face, but Jesper still caught a glimpse of the smile he was trying to hide.

“Well, _I_ definitely didn’t eat bugs as a kid.” He continued. “I know that much.”

“I’m just glad to hear you're not getting hurt delivering toys.” Klaus said sheepishly when he turned back. “I’d hate for you to be getting hurt just for this.”

“I mean, I don’t actually know where all the bruises and scratches come from. But I’ve definitely had some memorable ones.” Jesper said, then pointed to the left side of his jaw. “It’s gone now, but I had a good one right here for a while. The kids were having a snowball fight. Somebody got mad and threw a rock instead. Hit me right in the face. That one was an accident though. At least, I think it was an accident. I heard one of them yell _‘Look what you did!’_ While I was on the ground.”

Klaus didn’t try to hide his smile this time, his expression an odd mix of concern and amusement.

“And Yvette was in the habit of just kicking me in the shin for the longest time.” Jesper continued, pointing to his leg. “She’d just walk by and kick me, same place every time. That was an ugly one.”

“At least she doesn’t do it anymore?” Klaus offered.

“She likes to surprise me with it now. Keep me on my toes. But there’s still plenty of bruises that I have no idea how I got.” Jesper said, rolling his other sleeve up to show a series of small, faded bruises. “Like, look at this. No idea where those came from.”

He was not in any way prepared for Klaus to gently take his arm in both hands, pulling it closer so he could carefully inspect the bruising himself.

“Oh, if you think those are bad you should see my ribs.” Jesper laughed, placing his hand on the front of his coat.

But Klaus wasn’t laughing. In fact, he dropped Jesper’s arm and moved a few feet away, busying himself with the remaining pile of unwrapped toys.

“Or, I mean, you don’t actually. Obviously. It’s just more bruises. You get the picture. You know what bruises look like.” He added hurriedly, but the silence continued.

_Good job Jesper, you made it awkward again._

He resigned himself to Klaus being a quiet companion again, until suddenly he wasn’t.

“Ice.” He said, not looking up from his work.

“Hmm?”

“You should put ice on an injury if you think it’ll bruise, or as soon as you notice one. Wrapped in a cloth. A few minutes on, a few minutes off. It’ll help it heal faster.”

“Oh.” Jesper was momentarily at a loss for words. “I’ve never heard that before. Uh, thanks.”

“Of course.” Klaus said, then simply returned to packing up toys without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing quiet, awkward Klaus is both the best and worst thing.
> 
> Manual labor and childcare have been the most common sources in my own life for random mystery bruises, so I couldn't stop thinking about Jesper dealing with them as a mild annoyance on top of everything else. (And then of course, Klaus being concerned about them.)


	3. Year 2 (epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lead up to Jesper's second Christmas in Smeerensburg is very different from the first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a full on epilogue for the main story but, again, the only spoiler if you read it now should be fast forwarding to the happy ending.
> 
> Really, I just wanted to write some warm fuzzy feelings.

The months leading up to Jesper's second Christmas in Smeerensburg were very different from the first.

Instead of it being a time of desperation and stress and secrets, it was a time of excitement. A time of anticipation, joy, cooperation.

It was long days at the post office, sorting letters to Klaus out from the the normal mail before making his regular deliveries around town.

It was people smiling at him in the street and waving to him from their windows, happy to see their postman even when his deliveries didn't come from a certain toymaker.

It was seeing children playing in the schoolyard, unconcerned with their playmates family history, and looking around to realize the adults in town had also spent the last year making new connections with people they'd lived next door to their whole lives.

It was amazing how quickly mixed households had become a common sight in Smeerensburg.

It was coming home to find Klaus hard at work, turning new ideas into concept sketches and blueprints and mock-ups. So focused that he didn't even notice Jesper had been watching him until the kids came in asking about dinner.

It was listening to all the ridiculous things about Klaus their friends at school had come up with.

"Gregory said kids who are extra good get candy too. Where are you gonna get all that candy?"

"Well, the answer to that is simple. None of these kids have been good enough for candy."

"Jesper!"

"What? Are you a candy maker now too?"

And the equally ridiculous "insider information" they decided to tell them in return.

"Nobody believes that Papa knows all the bad stuff they do now that they see him all the time. So I told them their toys can see what they do and report back to you so you can make the naughty list."

"Wha- Why would you do that?"

It was waiting in anticipation for that first day their Saami friends would return to the workshop to help get things started in earnest.

Which, of course, only came after a few nights of good food and music and dancing and catching up.

It was a workshop filled with chatter and laughter and busy hands and people coming to him for help making decisions.

It was making the kids weak milky hot cocoa after a long day of "staying out of the way" running around in the snow with their friends while their parents were hard at work.

It was sitting by the fire, listening to Agnes carefully and methodically read fairy tales or children's books and enjoying a quiet moment with everyone at the end of the day.

While simultaneously thinking to himself _"Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep"_ as he looked at them, hoping the kids would pass out before they did so he could have a few quiet moments with just Klaus before the night ended.

It was knowing that for once they might actually have their bed to themselves because, yes, the kids did pass out first, and they were exhausted enough to sleep through the night right where they were. Half of them right there on the floor.

And, oh, how strange it was to feel nostalgic for his kids sleeping on the floor.

It was nights spent utterly exhausted but warm and content, strong arms wrapped around him.

And waking up actually excited to do his job.

It was finding a second in all the noise and busyness to look over at Klaus, to lock eyes and feel that little zing of excitement and know they were both proud of what they were doing.

What they were doing together.


End file.
